Button-inspecting machine



H. HASTINGS. BUTTON INSPECTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1917- 1,327,672. Patented Jan. 13,1920.

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'H. HASTINGS.

BUTTON INSPECTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28. 1911.

Patented J an. 13, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE. ft

HERBERT HASTINGS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GERMAN-AMERICAN BUTTON C0,, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BUTTON-INSPECTING IlVIAGHINF.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed May 28, 1917. Serial No. 171,578.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT HASTINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button- Inspecting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a machine that will facilitate the inspection of buttons, or button blanks, or the inspection of the stock pieces from which the buttons are to be made.

Another object of this invention is 'to provide a machine that will select the blanks from a hopper in which the blanks are contained and in making the selection will place the face or back of the blanks in a uniform position and will deliver the blanks from the selecting mechanism to a carrying mechanism, and will even group the blanks uniformly on a carrying mechanism in separate groups so as to facilitate the inspection thereof.

These and other objects of my invention will be fully illustrated in the drawings described in the specification and pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the machine partly in section, the section being taken on the line 4 4; of Fig. 1, a portion of the machine being broken away.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the hopper and selecting mechanism, the gearing being shown in side elevation.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7" 7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8 '8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a detail view of the separating plate through which the buttons pass after leaving the selecting mechanism.

Fig. 11 is an edge elevation of a button.

In the drawings reference numeral 1 inclicates the frame of the machine on which is mounted a shaft 2 which idly carries the pulley 3 from which the machine is driven. The shaft 2 is supported in the bearings a and ()n the shaft is mounted a clutch member 6 which engages with the pulley and from which the shaft is driven. Between the bearings 4 and 5 is carried a housing 7 in which is carried a pinion 8 splined to slide on the shaft 2. Also mounted to slide on the shaft 2 is a yoke 9 having a handle 10 thereon. This yoke engages on either side of the pinion 8 and carries therein an idle pinion 11, which pinion 11 is constantly in mesh with the pinion 8 and swings concentrically around the pinion 8 with the yoke 9.

Mounted parallel to the shaft 2 is the shaft 12 on which are carried four pinions of progressively decreasing diameters, three of these pinions being shownat 13, 14 and 15 and the smaller pinion 16 being concealed by the pinion 11 as appears in Fig. 2. All of these pinions appear concentrically as shown in Fig. 3. The shaft 12 extends across the cylindrical shell 17 on both sides of which it has a bearing as indicated at 18 and 19. The shaft 12 carries one end of the belt 20 by which the buttons are conveyed. At the left-hand end of the shaft 12 as shown in Fig. 2 is carried a bevel pinion 21 which meshes with the bevel pinion 22 by which the button selecting mechanism is driven.

The button selecting mechanism is carried on a base 23 which is fastened to the top of the cylindrical shell 17. This base is circular in outline and on it is supported the hopper 24 in which the buttons are carried.

On this base rotates the feedingplate 25 which has a series of openings 26 therethrough. This plate with the base supporting it sets on an incline as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 6. the inclination being about 45 degrees. The buttons are placed loosely in the hopper and naturally rest at the bottom of the hopper. As the plate rotates the openings pick up the button blanks and carry them up on the left-hand side of Fig. 9. The plate 25 rests on the base 23, which base closes the openings 26 at the bottom so that each opening forms a pocket in which the button may rest, and by which the button will be carried upward as the plate 25 rotates. The plate 25 is annular in shape and at its inner margin is fastened to a disk 27. Between the disk 27 and the plate is fastened an internal gear 28. The disk 27 is supported on a stud 29 which 111 turn is supported from a bracket 30 fastened to the base 23. The disk 27 rotates around the stud 29 on which it is centered.

The plate 25 is driven by the internal gear 28 through the following mechanism:

Meshing with the gear 28 is a pinion 31 which is carried on a stud 32. Integral with the pinion 31 is a pinion 33 which pinion meshes with the pinion 34 carried on the stud 35, which pinion in turn meshes with a pinion 36 carried on a shaft 37 mounted to rotate on a bearing 38 on the base 23. On the lower end of the shaft 37 is carried the bevel gear 22.

On the upper end of the shaft 37 is carried a pinion 39 which meshes with the pinion 40 mounted to rotate on a stud 41. Mounted on the pinion 40 and concentric therewith is carried the slicing plate 42 which rotates immediately below the feeding plate 25 and in the opposite direction. The base 23 is cut away eccentrically to receive the slicing plate 42.

The slicing plate 42 is cut away radially as indicated at 43.

The gearing is timed so that the slicing plate will make six revolutions while the feeding plate is making one revolution. The opening in the slicing plate is large enough to uncover the bottoms of two of the openings 26 in the feeding plate simultaneously but as the openings in the two plates move in the opposite direction to and eccentrically to each other, the opening of the slicer plate will uncover five openings in the feeding plate at each revolution and from these openings the buttons or blanks carried thereby will drop through.

On account of the length of the opening in the slicing plate each opening in the feeding plate will be uncovered for a considerable length of time giving ample time for each button in turn to drop from the feeding plate and pass the slicing plate.

Immediately below the slicing plate is placed the gate 44 having five passage ways therein which are separated from each other by the partition flanges 45. As the forward edge of the opening 43 in the slicing plate passes over each of these flanges an opening 26 in the feeding plate is substantially in line with the opening in the gate and as the opening 26 is uncovered by the forward movement of the slicing plate, the button drops through the opening in the gate.

Below the gate is placed a chute 46 having five passage ways therein corresponding to the passage ways in the gate. The buttons travel through these passage ways and are delivered by them on to the belt 20. It will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 6 that as the button is carried up by the feeding plate 25 one side of it will be up and as it is delivered to the belt 20, the button will be inverted so that the other side will be up.

If the buttons are flat on one side and rounded on the other side as appears in Fig. 11, the fiat side will be down as the button is carried up by the plate 25. If the rounded side is down the button will slide out of the opening 26 and fall back into the hopper and will not reach the slicing plate. After the button has passed through the chute 46 and has been delivered to the belt 20 the flat side of the button will be up.

The buttons will be deposited on the belt 20 in rows of five, and as the buttons of each row follow each other in quick succession through the gate 44, each row will be very nearly perpendicular to the edge of the belt. The rows of buttons will be spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the length of time that is consumed by the plate 25 in carrying the first button of the next row across the gate 44 from left to right in Fig. 9.

A portion of the openings 26 may be closed up which will decrease the number of buttons fed by the machine but will space the buttons apart into groups. Thus if five consecutive holes are closed up, the buttons will be delivered to the belt in groups of five rows each with a blank row after each group. If ten holes are closed up the buttons will appear on the belt in groups of four rows each with two blank rows after each group and if fifteen holes are closed up the buttons will appear on the belt in groups of three rows each with three blank rows after each group, etc. In some cases this helps in the inspection of the buttons. This will cut down the number of buttons fed with each revolution of the feed plate but by shifting the gears the machine can be driven at a higher rate of speed to compensate therefor.

The belt 20 on its outer end travels over the roller 47 and at the side of the belt are arranged the openings 48, 49, 50 and 51 and at the end of the belt is placed the opening 52.

As the buttons are carried along by the belt they are exposed to the inspection of the operator who can pick out the defective buttons and drop them into the chute or openings at the sides of the belt according to the classification that is desired and the buttons that are free from defects will pass over the end of the belt into the chute 52, each chute leading to a separate receptacle.

The belt 20 is supported by a table 53 which has flanges on the side thereof. By this table the belt is held up from sagging.

I claim:

1. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk adapted to feed buttons, said disk having a ring of openings therein each capable of receiving and carrying a button, means operating automatically and intermittently to open a group of said pockets and permit the buttons therein to drop therefrom.

2. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk adapted to feed buttons, said disk having a ring of openings therein each capable of receiving and carrying a button, means operating in termittently to open a group of said pockets and permit the buttons therein to drop therefrom, said means operating automati cally and intermittently to release succeeding groups of buttons and operating to keep an interval between each group.

3. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk adapted to feed buttons, a belt adapted to receive the buttons from said disk and means for automatically feeding and conveying said buttons in groups from said disk and placing them in rows on said belt.

4:. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk adapted to feed buttons in a single row, means for automatically feeding the buttons from said disk in a series of parallel rows.

5. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk having a ring of openings therein, each capable of carrying a button therein, a stationary plate closing the bottoms of said opening, a slicing plate revolving in said stationary plate eccentric to said disk, an opening in said slicing plate which at intervals registers With the openings of said disk" and permits the buttons carried therein to drop therefrom.

6. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk having a ring of openings therein, each capable of carrying a button therein, a stationary plate closing the bottoms of said openings, a slicing plate revolving in said stationary plate eccentric to said disk, an opening in said slicing plate which at intervals registers with the openings of said disk and permits the buttons carried therein to drop therefrom, said slicing plate rotating in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the disk.

7. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk having a ring of openings therein, a gate below said disk having a group of openings therein spaced closer together than the openings in the disk, means for causing a group of but-. tons to be carried over the openings in the gate, each button being placed near to its opening in the gate and. then permitting them to drop through the openings of the gate in the order reverse to the direction of the forward movement of the disk.

8. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a gate having openings therein, means to move buttons across the gate to the successive openings thereof, means to hold the buttons from dropping through the gate, means operating to permit the buttons to'drop through the openings of the gate in the order reverse to the forward movement of the disk.

9. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk adapted to feed buttons, said disk having a ring of openings therein each capable of receiving and carrying a button, means operating automatically and intermittently to open a group of said pockets and permit the buttons therein to drop therefrom suitably spaced apart in a row and in quicker sucaesiion than they are fed forward by said is r.

10. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a feeding plate having a row of openings therein, a stationary gate having a series of openings therein spaced nearer together than the openings in the plate, means for placing a plurality of said buttons over the openings in the gate and then permitting the dropping of said but tons in succession as the remaining buttons are placed over the openings in the gate.

11. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of an annular feeding plate, an internal gear fastened at the inner edge thereof, a disk fastened centrally to said feeding plate, a stud on which said disk is mounted to rotate, a bracket for supporting said stud a base on which said bracket is mounted.

12. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk having a ring of openings therein, each capable of carrying a button therein, a stationary plate closing the bottoms of said opening, a slicing plate revolving in said stationary plate eccentric to said disk, an opening in said slicing plate which at intervals registers with the openings of said disk and permits the buttons carried therein to drop therefrom, said slicing plate being adapted to make a plurality of rotations while the feeding disk is making a single rotation.

18. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a feeding plate having a ring of openings therein, each opening being adapted to carry a button, a slicing plate cut away at the edge thereof rotating eccentrically to the feeding plate, the openings of said feeding plate dropping the buttons con tained therein through the cut away portion of said slicing plate when the cut away portion of the slicing plate crosses the line of mlovement of the pockets of the feeding p ate.

14. In a machine for feeding buttons the combination of a revolving disk adapted to feed buttons in a single row, means for automatically feeding the buttons from said disk in a series of parallel rows, a chute below said disk having a plurality of passages therein, a belt below said chute adapted to receive buttons from said chute, said chute and belt operating to turn each button over as it travels from the disk to the belt.

15. In a button feeding machine the com-- bination of means for automatically feeting buttons in a row, agate having a plurality of openings therein, means for carrying the forward button over all the openings in the gate and dropping it in the farthest opening thereof, said means operating to position the succeeding buttons in like order over the remaining openings in the gate and drop said buttons one through each of said openings in the gate.

16. In a machine for feeding buttons, the combination of means adapted to feed buttons in a row, a chute below said means, a plate moving between said means and said chute, said plate normally holding the buttons in said feeding means from below and permitting them to drop into the chute at predetermined intervals.

17. In a machine for feeding buttons, the combination of means adapted to feed buttons in a row, a series of chutes located be low said feeding means, means for normally preventing the feeding of buttons from said feeding means into said chutes, said means operating to permit the feeding of buttons from said feeding means to said chutes colleetively at pre-determined intervals.

18. In a machine for feeding buttons, the combination of a revolving disk, having a ring of openings, each opening being capable of carrying a button therein, said disk being set at an incline, a stationary plate closing the bottoms of said openings, a slicing plate revolving in said stationary plate eccentric to said disk and under the upper edge thereof, an opening in said slicing plate which at intervals registers with the openings in said disk and permits the buttons carried therein to drop therefrom.

19. In a machine for feeding buttons, the combination of a revolving disk, having a ring of openings, each opening being capable of carrying a button therein, said disk being set at an incline, means for normally closing said openings from below, means for intermittently opening said openings from below at the upper edge of the plate and permitting the buttons carried therein to drop therefrom.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT HASTINGS. Witnesses EARL A. WELLER, FRANK V. Nnronn'r. 

